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Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.

Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies Social Sciences

9 papers

The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure.

Piers Steel
Psychological Bulletin Summary & key facts 2007 3,145 citations

This paper reviews research on procrastination and runs a meta-analysis of 691 correlations. It finds that some personality traits (neuroticism, rebelliousness, sensation seeking) have only weak links to procrastination. Strong and consistent predictors include task aversiveness, task delay, low self-efficacy, impulsiveness, and low conscientiousness (including poor self-control, distractibility, poor organization,…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies Work-Family Balance Challenges

Multidimensional Perfectionism and Burnout

Andrew P. Hill, Thomas Curran
Personality and Social Psychology Review Summary & key facts 2015 341 citations

This meta-analysis combined 43 studies (total N = 9,838; 663 effect sizes) to examine links between different kinds of perfectionism and burnout. It found that perfectionistic strivings were either slightly linked to lower burnout or not linked, while perfectionistic concerns were linked to higher burnout. When the two types were…

Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies Work-Family Balance Challenges Workaholism, burnout, and well-being

The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Social Anxiety: A Systematic Review

Reuben Kindred, Glen Bates
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Summary & key facts 2023 100 citations

This systematic review looked at 33 studies about social anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. The studies suggest social anxiety increased in the general population. Women and people with low incomes appeared more likely to report higher social anxiety. Other links to higher social anxiety included poor coping, weaker social support,…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes COVID-19 and Mental Health Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies

The moderating role of avoidance behavior on anxiety over time: Is there a difference between social anxiety disorder and specific phobia?

Myriam Rudaz, Thomas Ledermann, Jürgen Margraf, Eni S. Becker, Michelle G. Craske
PLoS ONE Summary & key facts 2017 54 citations

This study followed women with diagnosed social anxiety disorder (n = 91) or specific phobia (n = 130) for 18 months. It found that higher general anxiety at the start predicted higher general anxiety 18 months later in both groups. Clinician-rated avoidance of feared situations changed that pattern only for…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies

Associations between perfectionism and symptoms of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression in young people: a meta-analysis

Jessica Lunn, Danyelle Greene, Thomas Callaghan, Sarah J. Egan
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Summary & key facts 2023 49 citations

This meta-analysis combined 121 studies (from 4,927 articles found) about young people aged 6–24 (pooled mean age ≈ 17.7 years). It found that perfectionistic concerns (worry about making mistakes, fear of negative evaluation) were moderately linked to more symptoms of anxiety (r = .37–.41), OCD (r = .42), and depression…

Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies

Perfectionism as a predictor of physician burnout

Martin, Sarah R., Fortier, Michelle A., Heyming, Theodore W., et al.
SpringerLink Summary & key facts 2022 44 citations

This study surveyed 69 pediatric physicians (mean age 44.2, 61% female) in one U.S. children’s hospital network between August 2020 and February 2021. It found that 42% of doctors reported high emotional exhaustion or depersonalization, and that higher self-critical perfectionism was linked to higher emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores. The…

Diversity and Career in Medicine Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies

Delaying Disposing: Examining the Relationship between Procrastination and Clutter across Generations

Ferrari, Joseph R., Roster, Catherine A.
SpringerLink Summary & key facts 2018 44 citations

Researchers used online surveys to compare three U.S. adult groups—college students (mean age 21), younger adults from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (mean age 31), and older adults recruited through the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (mean age 54). They found that behavioral procrastination (putting off actions) explained more of the differences in…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies Work-Family Balance Challenges

Antidepressants versus placebo for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)

Katarina Kopcalic, Justin Arcaro, Antonio Pinto, Shehzad Ali, Corrado Barbui, Chiara Curatoli, et al.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Summary & key facts 2025 11 citations

This Cochrane review pooled 37 randomized trials with 12,226 adults who had moderate to severe generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). It found antidepressants were more effective than placebo at improving anxiety symptoms, with high confidence in the main results. Overall dropout rates were similar between antidepressants and placebo, but fewer people…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies

Perfectionism and Perceived Control in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Danielle S. Molnar, Gordon L. Flett, Paul L. Hewitt
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Summary & key facts 2020 11 citations

This study asked 161 adults (57% women, average age 33.24 years) who had experienced at least one traumatic event to fill out questionnaires about perfectionism, perceived control, personality, and PTSD symptoms. The researchers found that feeling pressured by others to be perfect (called socially prescribed perfectionism) was linked to higher…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
Summaries and links are for general information and education only. They are not a substitute for reading the original publication or for professional medical, legal, or other advice. Always refer to the linked source for the full study.